


Love, Allura

by mycacoeths



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, I Love You, Inspired by Love Rosie, Love Rosie AU, M/M, Mutual Pining, Unrequited Love, self indulgent fluffy stuff, they want to be together but they just cant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-06-17 16:49:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15465807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mycacoeths/pseuds/mycacoeths
Summary: “You have to talk to him.”“I can’t!”“Why not?!” Romelle exclaimed. She was getting sick of seeing Shiro’s sad-puppy-ice cream-robbed face everyday and she was getting even more sick of why she had to see it. She loved her friends dearly, both Allura and Shiro, but why couldn’t they just make up. “I don’t even see the problem here! You like him, he likes you back. Kiss, go out, graduate, go to space, get married on the moon, have Mars conceived children– it’s just so simple Allura! He’s. Right. There.”“I can't... He knows me so well. He knows everything about me, and things are good now. I go to him when I need him and I’ll be better about it in a tick and the same goes around with him to me.” She turned and looked at Romelle, breaking free from her embrace, “But what would happen if we got together and we fought about something? Relationships are like that, right? You fight and then nothing is right anymore, so– so you break up and it was like there was nothing there at all."I can't risk it. I can't lose him."-or That Love, Rosie AU/Romcom no one asked for with more pining and more pain whoops





	1. The Alien

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So welcome to this?? I don't know if this has been done before, but please join as we witness all the phases of pining Shiro and Allura go through as they grow up loving one another. yay ! 
> 
> It's a "Love, Rosie" inspired story so it's cliche and tooth rotting but painful all at the same time so please, enjoy.

**1\. The Alien**

 

 **T** he first time Takashi heard the word was when the chubby boy in the kindergarten classroom said it.

 

He came in late that day due to his father waking up a bit under the weather, causing sluggish movements from him and a slow going morning for Takashi. When he entered the room all the kids were gathered up in a little crowd in the corner of the room, talking louder than usual.

 

“Shiro!” This kid, Matt, called from the outer rim of the crowd and pulled him over. “Why are you late?”

 

“My name is Takashi.” He said tiredly. This kid has been calling him “ _Shiro”_ since he approached him the first day of classes and it was starting to get on his nerves. Shiro wasn’t his name. His mom called him Takashi, his dad called him Takashi. Shiro was not—

 

“Why are you late?” Asked Matt again, ignoring Takashi’s correction, just as he usually did. Matt crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head, “Well?”

 

“Pa has the sniffles,” Takashi shrugged off his backpack and waddled to his cubbyhole to pack it away along with his large parka. Matt trailed after him.

 

“Do you have it now too?” Matt asked, looking pointedly at Takashi’s pink nose. Takashi’s brows pulled together and Matt blinked up at him innocently. He deadpanned, “My mom doesn’t want me getting sick.”

 

“I don’t have the sniffles.” Takashi assured the fussing boy. Matt gave him a relieved sigh and Takashi returned it with a small smile. Even if this kid was annoying, he was still a great friend.

 

Takashi’s attention then turned back to the crowd which got increasingly rowdier. “What’s over there?”

 

“Oh, there’s a new kid.” Matt told him. Suddenly he was sitting on the floor, going through Takashi’s lunchbox. Takashi didn’t mind, his dad made sure to pack two sandwiches anyway, knowledgeable of his friend’s habits. “She looks like an—,”

 

“ _Alien_!” A child chortled. Terrance, was his name and he was the biggest out of all of them in class. “Space Alien! Like the ones on TV!”

 

His loud proclamation was then followed by the laughter of the group of children surrounding the new kid. Takashi frowned, “That isn’t very nice.”

 

“I agree.” Matt said, rising from the floor, a peanut butter jelly sandwich in hand. Before Takashi could stop him, the scrawny little boy tore a piece of the bread and chucked it at the bully, yelling, “MEANIE!”

 

Terrance turned slowly as the peanut butter came in contact with his hair. Matt didn’t cower away though, instead he just stuck beside Takashi and munched on the remaining pieces of his sandwich. Takashi froze as the large child’s glare fell on Matt and then himself.

 

“What was that?”

 

“We said you were mean.” Matt answered casually. Takashi grimaced at the word  _we._

 

Growing up, Takashi never liked conflict. His parents rarely fought in front of him, and his mother never disciplined him with anything else but words. His father gave him an occasional tap on the hand if he went too far, but never went further than that on being physical. Takashi didn’t like fights, but apparently Matt thrived off them.

 

“Just leave her alone, Terrance,”  he found himself saying. The attention of the blind followers of the bully were then averted from the new kid onto them.

 

Takashi felt Matt’s arm go around his shoulders, “Yeah, leave her alone,  _butthead_!”

 

“Matt!” Takashi scolded.

 

“What?”

 

“I’m telling on you.” Said Terrance, an intimidating air engulfing him, making him stand straighter and taller. If Takashi knew better, he would have thought things were about to get a lot worse.

 

He didn’t know any better.

 

One minute Matt was lunging at the tomato faced boy, sandwich in his mouth and fists flying everywhere, and the next, a kid was sitting on the ground with a cheek and tears in his eyes. And the kid wasn’t Matt.

 

The teacher had entered the room when it happened. He saw Matt’s charge and Terrance’s fists flying towards the small boy. He also saw Takashi pull his friend back by the shirt to avoid him from doing anything harmful, only to throw himself in the line of fire of Terrance’s punches.

“Shiro! Are you okay?” Matt was saying, but Takashi wasn’t listening. He was too busy rubbing his welling eyes with the back of his hand to keep the other kids from seeing him cry. He failed.

 

“Matthew, step aside,” said the teacher, Mr. Coran. Through his tears, Takashi could make out the blurry shapes of orange that made up the entirety of his preschool teacher’s personality.

 

His usually silly voice was serious as he knelt down to Takashi’s place on the floor, “Takashi?”

 

And even if he wanted to snitch, even if Takashi somewhat wanted to see Terrance face his consequence for being a huge… huge…  _butthead,_ Takashi sniffled out a mangled truth, “It was an accident.”

 

It  _was_  an accident. It was an accident that  _he_  was hit and not Matt.

 

“I see,” Mr. Coran nodded and brought a hand up to his face. Takashi winced as his thumb brushed over the sore spot and tears welled up in his eyes. Although his sobs, he forced out, “It doesn’t hurt.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Mhm.”

 

“Strong one, you are,” chuckled Coran. He then reached down to lift Takashi up and balance him on his hip. Takashi pouted at being the center of attention. Having all his classmates’ eyes rest upon him was never a thing he particularly craved for and never really had, but now that it was happening, he decided that he didn’t enjoy it.

 

Mr. Coran said a few words he couldn’t decipher, for his hiccups were getting louder as he held in his sobs more. He buried his face in the older man’s shirt and felt him walk away from the crowd. Because of that, Takashi was unaware that Matt was hot on Mr. Coran’s heels up until he exited the room, nor was he aware that a little girl had gathered up a bunch of other kids to circle around Takashi’s bully who was for a brief moment, hers too.

* * *

 

 

The punch was poorly delivered, but due to the Terrance’s size and weight, it was hard enough to form a bruise on Takashi’s light skin. When the nurse finished patching him up, he received a lollipop he was reluctant to take. His ma always told him that lollipops were cavities on a stick, and he wasn’t about to give up his “beautiful teeth” (Dr. Shirogane is a dentist).

 

Takashi’s parents were informed about the incident, which sent his mother into a string of foul words towards the school and the young offender. Takashi had to ask for the phone from Mr. Coran to talk to her and calm her down.

 

 _“Takashi! Oh, my baby, are you alright?”_ exclaimed his mother.

 

“I’m okay, ma.” he assured her.

 

_“Does it hurt?”_

 

He shook his head, as if she could see him,  _“_ Nu-uh,”

 

_“Are you sure, sweetie? Oh! I heard it bruised— it turned purple didn’t it? God, I’m on the way.”_

 

 _“_ I’m sure, ma.”

 

“ _I’m coming, okay, sweetie?”_

 

“Okay, ma.”

 

“ _Alright, could you give it back to Mr. Coran?”_

 

Takashi hesitated and looked up at the kind orange man. He was giving him a soft look, but Takashi knew he was just yelled at by an angry Ma. He didn’t like it when his ma yelled, it scared him, so he was sure Mr. Coran was a little scared too.

 

He turned back to the phone. “Ma?”

 

She hummed,  _“Yes?”_

 

“Don’t yell at Mister Coran, okay?” He told her, putting up a scolding finger. “He called me strong and he’s nice.”

 

Dr. Shirogane chuckled on the other line, “ _Okay, baby._ ”

 

“Here he is.” Takashi said, and handed the phone back over to his teacher, but just as the older man was about to grab it he pulled it back to his ear and stuck his mouth to the screen, where he thought the microphone was. “Oh, ma?”

 

His mother sighed fondly, “ _Yes, baby?_ ”

 

“Can I go back to class?” he asked, completely forgetting about the bruise on his face. Mr. Coran gave him a funny look and he shrugged back.

 

His mother sounded conflicted and confused as she uttered, “ _Um, but, sweetie—,”_

 

 _“_ There’s a new kid, I want to see her.” He explained, “Rolo said she had white hair.”

 

“ _But—,”_

 

 _“_ See you later, ma!” He said cheerily and handed the phone back to Mister Coran. Takashi watched as Mr. Coran talked to his mother animatedly before hanging up and looking back at him. Takashi blinked up at him expectantly and the young teacher let out a defeated sigh, “Come on then.”

 

The classroom was just as rowdy as they left it. Although the kids were on their seats on the floor, a few have bunched up together to play a hand game, a few were sharing toys and a few were telling one another stories and making big hand gestures. Takashi let go of Mr. Coran’s hand as soon as the door was opened and ran straight to Matt.

 

“Shiro!” Matt exclaimed, glad to see that his friend was okay. He glanced at the darkening skin on his cheek and then lifted a hand to poke it. Takashi whined when his finger touched the sore spot, “Ow!”

 

“Did you know that the blood under there is  _clotting_ ?” Matt said a matter of factly. His arms crossed over his chest and he gave Takashi a pointed look. “You could have  _died.”_

 

Takashi frowned, “But I’m not dead.”

 

“But you  _could have._ ”

 

“I… don’t want to die?”

 

“You’re not going to die.” Interjected a higher voice. Matt and Takashi turned their heads toward the girl approaching them.

 

Takashi had to wonder if what he was seeing was real. She was standing in front of him, wearing blue overalls and a baby pink shirt underneath. Her hair was big and wild, not to mention  _white,_ and it bounced whenever she moved her head. Her skin was a pretty, rich brown like hot chocolate. And her eyes— gosh, were those even real? They were big, crystal blue and purple eyes— eyes he’d never seen before. Sure Rolo had blue too, so did Ivy. His pa had green, and his ma had brown like his. Matt had lighter brown. But… blue and purple?

 

Takashi was raised and taught by his parents to be a courteous gentleman. Always be kind, always say hello back, always say please and thank you. Among those teachings, he was well educated about personal space. In that moment, he’d forgotten what it was all about. He leaned forward into the little girl’s  personal bubble and brought his face all up in hers, saying, “I like your eyes.”

 

Unfrazzled by his forwardness, the girl grinned, “Thank you.”

 

“How’d you get them all purple?” He asked, pointing at them.

 

Allura blinked and then shrugged, “I don’t know.”

 

“Huh,” Takashi huffed and leaned back. “They’re very pretty.”

 

“Thank you.” She said, then nodded towards his cheek, “Does it still hurt?”

 

Takashi shook his head, “No, not anymore.”

 

“Did the punch hurt?”

 

Takashi looked away, “Little bit.”

 

“Oh.” She frowned, and then remarked, “You’re very brave.”

 

Takashi felt his face heat up just as it did when Mr. Coran called him strong. “Thanks. It was just an accident.”

 

“But you saved your friend.” she pointed out, glancing at Matt who was still staring at her like he’d seen a shiny robot. “That’s really brave.”

 

Takashi hummed, not really knowing what to say to that. He then remembered that the pretty girl didn’t have a name in his head yet. He pulled out a hand, like he’d seen his Pa do to work friends, and said, “My name is  Takashi Shirogane. Nice to meet you.”

 

The fairy-girl looked at his hand and shook it, “I’m Allura. Nice to meet you, Takashi.”

 

“I’m Matt,” said Takashi’s companion who seemed to have finally snapped out of his awe. He reached out to shake Allura’s hand. Allura repeated her name and gave Matt a prize winning smile.

 

“I call him Shiro.” Matt informed Allura, and Takashi frowned. He opened his mouth to protest, to tell her not to call him that, but he was cut off by someone calling his name by the doorway.

 

It was his mother. He gave Allura and Matt a final glance before he ran off and jumped into his ma’s arms. “Ma!”

 

“Oh, darling, are you okay?” She fussed, pulling away and pushing his hair out of his face. She gasped at the discoloration on her son’s face and brought him in for another hug. “Does it still hurt?”

 

Takashi shook his head and pushed at his ma’s shoulder, rushing, “No— ma, ma, look—,”

 

“I’m going to talk to the principal—,”

 

“Ma.”

 

“You wait for me here, Terrance’s mom is…”

 

“Ma.”

 

“... going to be really quick and we…”

 

“Ma!”

 

She blinked, “What is it, Takashi?”

 

Shiro grinned andpointed at where he was standing just before she arrived. “Look at my friends.”

 

Dr. Shirogane’s gaze moved from her son to two little children. One was a small and thin boy. She noted his body engulfed in a giant green sweater to keep him warm and his face was overwhelmed by large circular glasses. His hair was a light brown color and so were his eyes. He was waving at her rather excitedly, so she waved back. She guessed this was the second sandwich receiver her son talked about during dinner.

 

The other was a little girl she wasn’t familiar with. She had dark skin and light,  _light_  hair. From afar, she could see her crystalline eyes and the light dust of pink over her cheeks as she blushed and waved as well. She gave the two a small smile and a wave back.

 

“Allura is very pretty,” he whispered, hands cupped around his mouth as he leaned towards her ear. Even if he was still technically talking in the same volume, she leaned in to humor him. “Pa said if I find a pretty girl, I’m going to marry her.”

 

Dr. Shirogane’s eyes widened and she pulled away slowly to look at her son, “He said what?”

 

Takashi was giving her a perplexed gaze as he tried to recall what exactly his father meant, “Do I  _have_ to marry Allura?”

 

Dr. Shirogane glanced at her son and then at the girl who was now showing Matt how to play a simple hand game. “No, sweetie.”

 

“But what if I  _want_ to marry Allura?”

 

Dr. Shirogane blinked and she stared at her son. As she looked into his innocent gaze, her shock eased and she let out a light giggle, “Well, how’s about you make her your friend first, and we talk about marriage when you’re older.”

 

“How much older?”

 

“When you’re as big as me.”

 

Takashi’s nose crinkled as he screwed his face up in thought, “That’s like a hundred years!”

 

His mother gasped, “Takashi!”

 

“What, mama?” He smiled and brought his hands up to her cheeks, like what his Pa does when she frowned, “You’re beautiful.”

 

Dr. Shirogane laughed and shook her head. Just like his father, she thought. She kissed her son on the forehead and stood up, holding his hand in hers. “Let’s go for ice cream and you can hang around in the clinic, okay?”

 

“Can I play with the teeth?” He asked. Takashi liked playing with his mother’s teeth models since they open and closed like real chompers. Sometimes, he walked around with each on his limbs and pretended he was being eaten by zombies.

 

His mother nodded, “Of course, ‘Kashi.”

 

Takashi let his mother guide him out of the room, but he didn’t forget to turn and wave to his friends. “Bye!”

 

“Bye, Shiro!” Exclaimed Matt, who suddenly had his other sandwich in his hand. Shiro’s eyes scanned the room for Allura, but she was nowhere to be seen. Shiro shrugged it off, but he was a bit disappointed that he couldn’t get to see her magic eyes again before he left. Maybe tomorrow.

 

“Hey!” called a voice, echoing around the corridor, followed by loud, rushing footsteps. He turned to see a flash of white and blue rushing over towards him. He perked up, “Allura!”

 

“You forgot your jacket.” She told him, handing him his thick purple parka. He took it from her and smiled, “Thanks!”

 

“No problem, Shiro.” she said and gave him a shy smile. She then turned to run back to Mr. Coran who’d been holding the door open, watching the encounter unfold. Once she disappeared through the door, his mother spoke.

 

“ _Shiro_?”

 

Any other time he was called that by Matt, he would correct him, tell him he was wrong and that his name was Takashi and  _not_  Shiro, but now… he wasn’t sure. Now, he kinda liked it.

 

He drew his jacket to his chest and hugged it, some parts of it engulfing half his face and muffling his words as he smiled into it and said, “Yeah, that’s me.”

* * *

 

  


The next few weeks consisted of Takashi forming a stronger bond with his little ragtag group. It had come to the point where Mr. Shirogane had begun to pack three sandwiches and juice boxes in Takashi’s lunchbox.

 

Takashi liked his friends. All three of them shared a common interest: outer space. Matt always had something to say and report every morning. He’d looked forward to the boy telling him details about a rocket launch, the moon and different planets whenever he would come into class. He didn’t mind anymore that he called him Shiro instead of Takashi. He started to warm up to the nickname as soon as Allura started using it too.

 

Allura was convinced that there were space aliens. Matt liked to rebuke her for it, saying that there was no actual proof. She would tell him that the universe was big and that there were lots of other planets that they didn’t know about where the aliens could reside. Matt would ask ‘like what?’ and ‘like who?’, and she would answer ‘like Asteroid 325’ and ‘like the Little Prince’.

 

Matt would then shrug her off and proceed playing with the large blocks to build his spaceship.

 

“You believe me, right, Shiro?” she would ask him, time and time again. He would always reply with, “I believe you, Allura.”

 

It was during one of their lessons when they had to take their seats and answer pages on their books and listen to their teachers that Takashi was passed a small note from Matt by the kid to his left. He unfolded the note curiously and slowly read the pathetic excuse of messy scribbles for words.

 

_I am… bo...r…_

 

“What does it say?” Allura asked from his right. She won the race between her and Matt to sit on the chair beside Takashi.

 

“I’m still reading it.” Takashi whispered back and went back to reading. Allura started to grow impatient so she reached out and grabbed the piece of paper from his hands. Takashi jumped at the sudden movement and scowled at her, “Hey!”

Allura, being a much faster reader than young Takashi, began to tell him, “He says he’s bor–,”

 

“Takashi Shirogane.” came a stern warning from the teacher. It wasn’t Mister Coran today, hence the lack of playtime, and  Allura gasped as she began to make her way towards their seat. She fumbled around to figure out how to dispose of the note before she got in trouble, but to her surprise, Shiro’s hand darted out and snatched the paper from her fingers. In one swift movement, the paper was then chomped up and safe inside Shiro’s mouth. In the same breath, the teacher took him away by the ear and he gave her a mixture of a frightened and an amused look. She couldn’t help but giggle and feel bad about it.

 

She then decided, with a fluttering heart, that Shiro was her hero and her favorite person in the universe.


	2. The Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the summer after fifth grade and Matt is going off to Space Camp with his Dad while Allura and Shiro are left back home to each other's company. 
> 
> Allura gets braces, her dads get caught up thinking about her future, and Shiro was the pea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am absolute garbage at summaries omg im so sorry, but please enjoy this soft smol shallura

**2\. The Summer**

 

“Do they hurt?” 

 

Allura shook her head, hands over her mouth, muttering out a muffled, “No.” 

 

Shiro peered over her hands and poked her cheek, “What about no—,”

 

She yelped, “SHIRO!”

 

Shiro’s eyes widened as he registered what he’d done, “Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! You said it didn’t hurt!”

 

“I lied!” She hissed and covered her mouth once again. Shiro’s hands ghosted around her figure as he panicked. “W-what do I do?!”

 

Allura shook her head and pushed his hands away. “I’m fine! Don’t touch me!” 

 

Shiro pouted, shoving his hands in his pockets, “I’m sorry, Allura.” 

 

She grumbled something unintelligible and turned away from him, tapping her foot on the floor and looking around to try and avert her attention from the pain in her mouth. Shiro watched as she calmed down and waited until she turned towards him. 

 

“I’m sorry.” He said when she finally did. Allura pushed hair out of her face and gave him a faint smile, “It’s okay.”

 

“There’s ice cream in my house.” He told her, “Can you eat ice cream?”

 

She shook her head, “I’m not really hungry for anything right now.”

 

“Oh okay,” Shiro nodded and shifted on the beanbag he was sitting on.

 

It was around the second week of summer vacation after the fifth grade. Allura had just gotten back home from the dentist where her father, Alfor, took her to get braces. Shiro was in her room, waiting when she returned, having meant to visit her earlier. 

 

He was supposed to go with her to his ma’s clinic and be there to support her and hold her hand when his mom put the brackets on her teeth. He’d really meant to be there for moral support, but unfortunately Monsters and Mana was on TV the night before and he snuck out his room to watch it in the living room way past his bedtime. Allura’s appointment was at 10 in the morning. He woke up two hours later.

 

So instead, he waited in her room and made a mess of crumbs from the cookies her not-step-dad-step-dad, Coran made. When she came back, he jumped up from her bed and started to apologize. She did nothing but give him the cold shoulder for having broken his promise of being there. 

 

Shiro cursed his favorite show internally and vowed never to watch it again… except for sometimes. He followed Allura around her room as she paced back and forth, covering her mouth and not speaking to him. He apologized relentlessly and said nonsensical things to make her laugh and notice him. When she finally did, he breathed a sigh of relief and said sorry once again, face solemn and bowing ever so slightly. 

 

Everything was fine until he poked Allura’s cheek and she was in pain and irritated with him all over again. He huffed and stared at her as she looked at herself in the mirror, glaring at the new addition on her teeth. Shiro spent enough time in his ma’s clinic to know how much maintenance went into having braces. Luckily, he didn’t have to have them because his ma made sure his teeth grew in healthy and right. He took pride in that. 

 

But watching Allura whimper every time she touched her dried up lips or her swollen cheeks made him want to know what it felt like to know how to make her feel better. He sighed, and then it hit him.

 

Allura turned to find Shiro holding out an old walkman with her favorite (and only) CD in it. He had a bashful smile on his face as he handed her one of the two headsets it came with. She took it and gave him a smile of silver in return.

 

They lied on the floor and listened to the sounds of an old timey jazz singer. Allura already listened to the tape enough to know all the words to sing along, and Shiro didn’t want to feel left out so he mumbled along to the tune.

 

* * *

  
  
  


“How was it? She barely said hello to me,” Coran asked, looking up at the staircase where Allura disappeared to before he could even ask her about her day.

 

Alfor sighed and dropped the keys to the car in the clay pot beside the door, “Terrible. She kept whimpering and asking Kate to let her spit.”

 

Alfor rubbed his temples as he approached the nearest couch and plopped onto it, “She hates them, not to mention.”

 

Coran placed a comforting hand on Alfor’s head, “I’m sure she doesn’t. Shiro’s upstairs, he’ll figure something out.”

 

Alfor chuckled, “I feel guilty that we leave the difficult parts of parenting to a 12 year old boy.” 

 

“There are some things only children can help children with.” Coran said, a wisp of wisdom in his tone that made Alfor look at him incredulously. The seriousness on the man’s face broke into a smile as he patted his husband’s shoulder, “There are cookies on the counter. Do you think she’ll want any?”

 

Alfor shook his head, “Said she’ll ‘ _ never be able to eat anything with her mouth again _ ’.” 

 

Coran rolled his eyes, “She truly is quite the drama queen.”

 

“She got it from her mother.” 

 

“No, she got it from you.”

 

Alfor gasped, “Excuse me?”

 

“You heard me.” Coran teased and walked past him. He placed a kiss on Alfor’s cheek as he did and then started up the stairs, calling out, “Cookies on the counter! Oh, Allura!”

 

Coran made his way through the hall of the second floor and came face to face with a pink door with a large ‘A’ plastered upon its face. Coran knocked once, then twice and when no one replied, he slowly pushed the door open to peek through at the children. 

 

He didn’t think Shiro snored. Well, he didn’t think much of the child’s sleeping habits, but now he knew that he snored. Shiro’s arms and legs were splayed on the beanbag, his entire body outstretched, one arm over his head and the other  over his eyes. His legs rested clumsily on the floor, overspilling from the small seat. His mouth was open and tiny snores came out as he rested just as peaceful as the girl on his side. 

 

Allura was on a separate beanbag— her favorite periwinkle one— and, unlike the boy, she was curled up into a ball. Her body spilled over enough for her forehead to be resting on Shiro’s shoulder and the one hand that wasn’t on her cheek rested on his chest. 

 

Coran grinned at the two. Although the protective father in him kicked at his ribs, he still found the innocent sight incredibly adorable. He immediately raced down the stairs and sped past Alfor to grab the digital camera before running back up the stairs as quietly as possible to capture the moment.

 

“Coran?”

 

“Shh!”

 

“What— oh.”

 

Coran giggled as he took a quick photo of the two and closed the door behind him.

 

“That’s disturbing her privacy, don’t you think?” Alfor smirked, arms crossing over his shoulders as he gave Coran a taunting look. 

 

“Eh… well, technically, the door was open.” Coran fumbled, “and— oh! She’ll thank me when I show this on their wedding day.”

 

Alfor’s playful gaze faded and his brows shot up, “Their wedding day?”

 

It wasn’t that Alfor disapproved of Shiro. The child was a walking ball of all things good in the world… but that was exactly it. He was a child, and so was his daughter. He shouldn’t be thinking about her marriage with Shiro or anyone else. She was 12 for God’s sake. But it was too late, he’d already fallen into a string of thoughts about how, one day, she’d inevitably grow up and leave. His only daughter.

 

A wave of fresh melancholy ran through his body and Coran noticed the change of mood in an instant. He frowned and let the camera hang around his wrist. He started, knowingly,  “Alfor…”

 

Alfor gave him a small smile, assuring him he was fine, “Sorry. I just… realized that I don’t want her to grow up.” 

 

He sighed and glanced at her door, “But everything seems to be going so fast, sometimes I just want things to slow down… maybe even stop.”

 

Coran nodded in understanding. He too feared the day when Allura becomes a strong young woman they all knew she would be, because that meant she wouldn’t be their little girl anymore. He dreaded the day and also the atmosphere. He was thankful when Alfor took a breath and smiled, choosing to leave the topic for another day. “Cookies?”

 

* * *

  
  


“Do you have to go?” Shiro asked Matt as he helped him load his bag in the back of his mom’s minivan. Matt gave him a sorrowful shrug, “Yeah, it’s gonna be boring.”

 

“No, it’s not and you know it,” Shiro pouted and watched as Matt rummaged through his things to make sure everything was there. “Space Camp will be fun, you’ll get to be a junior cadet.” 

 

“Yeah, but I’ll be in a room stuck with boring nerds for a whole summer,” Matt pointed out. “Why would I want to be with a bunch of boring nerds there when I could be with a bunch of boring nerds here?” 

 

Shiro laughed, “Hey! Allura and I are not boring nerds!” 

 

“Who called us boring nerds?” Allura asked, pedalling over to them on her bike. She squeezed on the breaks and eyed the two boys up and down. Nerd? Her? A nerd? Beside these two? “I’ll have you know I’m way cooler than the both of you combined.”

 

“Oh save it, brace face.” Matt teased. Allura gasped, “Watch it, four eyes!” 

 

And then they smiled and shared a laugh all in good nature. Shiro walked over to stand beside Allura as Matt hopped up to shut the trunk. 

 

Matt then turned to them and gave them a sad smile, “I’m gonna miss you guys.” 

 

“Oh, we’re gonna miss you too, Matt!” Allura cried and lunged forward to wrap her arms around her friend. She gestured for Shiro to join in and he did. That was how Sam Holt, Matt’s dad, found them— all crumpled together in a group hug. 

 

“Matthew, time to go,” he said and disappeared into the front seat to start the car. Matt gave his friends one last look before bouncing up to sit in the passenger’s seat. Colleen, Matt’s mom, collected the two to stand on the sidewalk and wave Matt away. 

 

“Takashi, Allura,” Sam called before they left, “I’ll see you two in the Galaxy Garrison soon too, yeah?”

 

The two children’s eyes widened. The Galaxy Garrison? Matt was heading off to _the_ _Galaxy Garrison_ summer space camp?

 

Shiro hadn’t even noticed himself nodding furiously until Allura began to giggle beside him. Sam waved them goodbye as he pulled away and Matt had removed his seatbelt to stand on the seat and wave as well. 

 

“Bye, guys! Don’t replace me!” 

 

“Don’t replace us!” 

 

“Bye, mom!” 

 

Shiro turned to Allura who seemed to be as slack jawed as he was. It’d been a dream for the three of them to get in the Galaxy Garrison, the world’s greatest space station, home of all the legends. 

 

Shiro had always wanted to be one of the greats. Big names came to mind and all he could think of was how his name would one day be as big as his idols’. It was extremely hard to get into the Garrison, but Mr. Holt was one of the leading science officers there, so it was no doubt Matt would have an easy ride through. He, on the other hand, had yet to convince his mother that he really,  _ really  _ wanted to go to outer space. 

 

Aside from also wanting to be a part of the greats, Allura wanted something else from the garrison. She wanted to be amongst the people who saw space to be as beautiful as she did. She wanted to go out there and learn about the stars and also be amongst them... and talk to aliens. Her father, Alfor, had no doubt that she would do great things when she grew up. He, himself was once a part of the research and engineering team of the garrison. Seeing her want to follow in his footsteps made him proud, but scared for his daughter’s safety. 

 

The Garrison was so far away, in the middle of a desert, and they start recruiting at the raw age of 13– only a year away for the three young children. All the parents were too apprehensive for them to be sent off at such a young age, which was a big part of their Garrison fate. 

 

So when Sam told Shiro and Allura that he’d be seeing them soon— what had he meant? Would he be going to put a good word in about them? Would he be reserving slots for two space cadets? Would he be already  _ enrolling them?  _

 

Shiro couldn’t help but feel a fresh wave of jealousy course through his veins at the thought of Matt being able to go for the summer, but then it subsided when he thought about the  _ possibility _ of him being able to go too. Maybe next summer? Or for the whole of his high school life? He didn’t know, but he was giddy with excitement.

 

Allura seemed to share the same sentiments when he turned to her and saw her asking Mrs. Holt about what Mr. Holt meant when he said “ _ see them soon _ ”. 

 

“How soon? Did Matt know about the camp being all the way in the garrison? When will they come back?”

 

Colleen answered her questions with a vague but amused shrug. She then invited the two inside for juice and they followed. 

 

“Shiro,” Allura whispered excitedly, “Do you really think we can get into the Garrison?”

 

“I hope we do.” He frowned, “I really want to get in.” 

 

Allura wanted to talk about it more, but all sense and attention towards the topic was thrown out the window when Mrs. Holt took out frozen popsicles from the fridge. And that was the end of that. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Shiro and Allura lived across the street from one another and so they thought of each other’s houses to be their own. Whenever Shiro would show up on Allura’s doorstep at 7 in the morning, a sleepy Alfor would just unlock and open the door and step aside to let him run past. It was the same thing with Shiro’s dad when Allura came over at 8 in the evening.

 

The parents thought they were both lovely children and they trusted them enough to know what was right and wrong when it came to the things they did. Luckily for them, Shiro and Allura were the epitome of “goody-two-shoes”. That was until Allura began her rebelion streak. 

 

It was 10 and past Shiro’s (and her) bedtime when she climbed in through his window and sat on the edge of his bed. He was already asleep, sprawled out over his covers, half his body falling off the bed. He’d just been to his football practice. She figured he’d been asleep a while when she thought of what time practiced finished (6) and what time it was. He must have crashed as soon as he got home because he was still in full dusty and muddy gear. 

 

She took the time to take a closer look at his room illuminated by the soft glow of his nightlight. The walls were plain white, but the floor was covered in a dark blue carpet. She made sure to leave her slippers on the windowsill before she stepped foot in the house. He always seemed to do it at their house, so she picked up the habit. 

 

There was his simple bed with his space sheets and two pillows, his ceiling was littered with glow in the dark stars and so were half of his walls. There was a toy chest tucked neatly into the corner of his room, across that was his study table and a tall, brown, funky shaped bookshelf. Some of the cubby holes contained story books and a few old school books, one held a few robot lion toys he owned arranged side by side. Another held a dead plant, which clearly was supposed to be alive. Somewhere slightly higher was a goldfish bowl with his fish, Dog, who was thankfully still alive. 

 

She hopped over to his dresser and stood on her tiptoes to see what was on top. There was a jar of coins, more glowy stars, deodorant and a few framed photos. She took them down one by one to examine: one was of him and his parents, similar to the large one they had downstairs in the hallway with the Japanese characters written on the side, but in this one, they were smiling more and closer together than they were in the one downstairs. Another was of him and Matt on the football team when they were younger. Then there was one with him and his grandparents as he sat on his grandfather's lap. There was another with him in a superhero costume for halloween. She giggled,  _ how cute _ . 

 

She moved over to the full length mirror beside his door where more photos were tucked into the corners of it. She reached up and grabbed the biggest one and blushed furiously when she realized what it was. It was him and her at their third grade school play. She was the princess with the cone top hat thing and his head was popping out of the circle of the spherical green felt costume he wore. She was smiling and he was baring his teeth as he looked away from the camera. 

 

She snorted at the memory of The Princess and the Pea, when the kid who played the prince actually peed himself. She jumped at the sound of her own laughter in the quiet of the room and clapped a hand over her mouth. When the quiet settled, she noticed a softer sound coming from the bed. She walked to Shiro’s side and took the photo with her. 

 

He was whimpering and muttering things Allura couldn’t understand. His hand twitched on his side and his forehead puckered into a frown. Allura gently placed the photo on top of one of the free pillows and gingerly poked Shiro’s arm. He grumbled in response and his face grew more distressed. 

 

“Shiro,” Allura whispered and shook his shoulder. He whimpered some more and started to reach out. Allura panicked and caught his searching hands. Shiro awoke at the contact and bleary eyes met worried ones in the dim light. 

 

Shiro squinted, “Allura?” 

 

“Hi,” she smiled sheepishly, hands still holding his.

 

“What time is it?” He murmured, looking around, disoriented by the sudden awakening. 

 

“Around eleven.” 

 

“Were we having a sleepover?”

 

Allura shook her head. Shiro frowned, “How’d you get in here? It’s past curfew.” 

 

She nodded towards where her slippers rested and shrugged, “Window.” 

 

“How long have you been here?”

 

“Just a few minutes.” She told him. Shiro took a look around him again and then realized where his hands were. Allura seemed to realize around the same time as him because they both pulled away promptly and looked away from one another.

 

“Sorry,” Allura spoke, “I thought you were awake, I shouldn't have stayed.”

 

“It’s okay,” he murmured, “You’re not a thief, you’re my best friend.” 

 

Allura smiled at him and climbed up on his bed properly. She leaned her back on the headboard and brought her knees up to her chest. Shiro lied back down and stared up at the stars on the ceiling. 

 

“What were you dreaming of?” Asked Allura. 

 

Shiro closed his eyes and waited for the memory to come back to him, “Something bad... and then something good.”

 

“Do you remember?”

 

He shook his head, “Just the feeling. I was scared and then I wasn’t.” 

 

“Oh,” Allura murmured. They sat in silence for a second with nothing but the sound of each other’s breathing. Allura was thinking of how she would climb back up her window and explain to her parents where she’d been if she’d been caught when Shiro spoke up.

 

“I had a dream about a monster the other day though,” Shiro started, “He was purple. He wanted to rule the universe.” 

 

“Sounds scary,” 

 

“It kinda sounds like a movie idea.” 

 

“How so?” 

 

Shiro shrugged, “He cut my arm off.”

 

Allura gasped, “Shiro!”

 

He chuckled and placed his right hand on her knee, “It was this one.”

 

“Shiro!”

 

“Sliced it right off!”

 

“Takashi Shirogane!” Suddenly the lights were on and they were seeing blinding spots of white. Allura’s eyes focused on the figure by the door.  _ Oh. _

 

It was Dr. Shirogane and she did not look happy. 

 

“Ma!” Shiro stood up to attention. Allura scrambled off the bed and stood up too, knowing full well she wasn’t supposed to be there. 

 

“Hi…” Allura waved and then trailed off as another figure walked in to stand beside Shiro’s mother. Adding onto his disheveled appearance, he looked as cross as she did, “... Dad.” 

 

Needless to say, both she and Shiro were grounded for a week. She left the home and took nothing with her.

 

Shiro woke up the next day thinking it was all a dream, but the photo on his pillow made him believe otherwise. A rush of blood made its way up his cheeks and his heart hammered in his chest at the memory… and at the thought of her. 

 


	3. The Garrison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura and Shiro have been friends for over ten years, and things start to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaa im sorry this took so long but its here and yes please enjoy i try to make them cute huhu i love them

  1. **The Garrison**



 

“Congratulations, cadet, you just successfully wrecked the simulator from your careless flying. The rescue ship never came, the men are stranded on the moon and your crew is _dead.”_

 

Allura’s hands balled into fists and she bit her tongue to keep from fighting back and defending herself.

 

“What did you think was going to happen?”

 

Allura opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by her commanding officer yelling at her again. This stupid guy with the stupid eye and the stupid nose with his stupid voice and stupid hat. Stupid.

 

She’d tuned the rest of it all out and accepted the fact that she was getting yelled at by this clown in front of the whole class. She only snapped out of it when he called out, “Shirogane! Show her how it’s done.”

 

And then she could feel the steam coming out from her ears.

 

She and Shiro had the same flight class where everyone got to get a chance to be an engineer, a communications officer and a pilot at one point. Today she was assigned to be a pilot, and although her expertise relied more on engineering, manning a crew didn’t pose much of a challenge for her. That was until her crew mates decided to sabotage her by deliberately disobeying her orders, which forced her to make rash, unorthodox decisions. Her backup plan was fool proof but the _stupid_ commander with his _stupid hat_ had to pull the plug before she could accomplish her final blow.

 

And then she got yelled at.

 

She glared at her friend as he walked into the simulator with his crew and he gave her a cold look back with a hint of guilt just beneath the surface, keeping a controlled calm as Iverson watched. Stupid Takashi Shirogane. Stupid golden boy. Stupid class. _Stupid stupid stupid!_

 

* * *

  
  


_“Allura!”_

 

She pulled the sling of her bag over her shoulder and pretended she couldn’t hear him as she walked out the class.

 

“Allura, wait!”

 

She stalked away faster, trying her hardest to blend into the sea of people that flooded the corridors to get to her dorm. She didn’t have any more classes to attend after that and all she wanted to do was go get herself an iced coffee off campus and wallow in her misery in her dorm.

 

“‘Lura, please!”

 

 _Alone_.

 

“Hey!” Suddenly hands were on her shoulders and she was being spun around. Grey eyes gazed into her blue ones and rendered her motionless. She took a breath and plastered on a smile, but her eyes remained steely and cold, “Hey _.”_

 

Shiro’s friendly grin fell and his brows furrowed, “Allura, don’t be like that.”

 

“Like _what_ ?” She almost hissed and jerked her shoulders free from his grasp. He dropped his arms to his side and sighed, “Like, like _that.”_

 

Allura looked away from him stubbornly and tried to focus on anything but his gaze as he tried to catch her eye. Annoyed, she snapped, “What, Takashi?!”

 

“I just…” he frowned, taken aback by her sudden outburst. He hated it when she called him by his first name. It felt like being stripped of all the years they’d known and been comfortable around each other. “I didn’t mean to…”

 

Allura sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, sobering and coming down from her high horse. Taking out her frustrations on Shiro wasn’t going to fix anything. It would only make matters worse and she’d have to suffer reliving flashbacks of her best friend looking like an abandoned puppy. “Look, Ta— _Shiro_ , I’m not… it’s not your fault. I’m just having— today isn’t a good day.”

 

Shiro’s brows pulled together in concern, but he stayed silent. He knew how she was when she got upset. She was a walking time bomb. You could bump into her while she was having a shit day by accident and she’d make you wish you were never born.

 

Allura had turned away from him again. She clutched the strap of her bag closer to her as she pulled herself together. All the frustration and tiredness of the day– no, the week– began to weigh down on her at that moment and she couldn’t help but feel even more irritated with the feeling of pin pricks in her eyes.

 

She took a breath and risked another glance at Shiro before turning back the other way, saying, “I have to go.”

 

Shiro sighed and followed after her, “Allura.”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“Allura.” Suddenly, he was in front of her and she was being held by the shoulders again. He was gentler this time around and his face was one of understanding as he looked down on her. It then occurred to her how much the dork she’d known has grown over the years. With that thought, she sniffled and let out a choked, pathetic excuse for a laugh.

 

“When did you get so tall?”

 

Shiro rolled his eyes and pulled her to him, wrapping her in his arms and crushing her against his chest in a warm hug. And as if the floodgates had been opened, the tears came pouring out and she was sobbing on his uniform. “Tough week?”

 

She nodded and clutched onto his shirt tighter, pulling him closer to her as she hid her face from him. She felt his cheek rest on her forehead and his one hand rub up and down her back comfortingly. She always liked his hugs– always warm, natural and easing.

 

As the tears flowed, she had time to examine what the cause of them was. Countless projects, lack of sleep, her teammates not being able to help and even going the extra mile to sabotage a flight simulation, coffee being spilled on her uniform, her dorm neighbors being too loud, the sound of the early morning sirens that woke them up for assembly, the failing grade she got on a pop quiz she wasn’t ready for, the lack of time with friends, not being able to see her dads, not being able to see Matt or Shiro, being able to see Shiro, but under the circumstance that he would be called to one up her and humiliate her in front of the whole class.

 

“I just want to go home.” she whispered into his chest. Shiro froze and felt a wave of empathy flow through him. After a beat, he nodded and stroked the back of her head with his thumb, “I know.”

 

“Come on.” he said, eventually, pulling away once the other kids have filtered out of the halls. Breakdowns were normal within the campus because of the workload they were usually given, so Shiro and Allura barely caused a scene. Shiro rubbed Allura’s shoulders and slid a hand down to take hers and lead her out the doors.

 

Allura frowned and asked, “Where are we going?”

 

“Off campus.” he answered, pushing the doors and leading them to an empty plaza.

 

Allura’s eyes widened in shock. She pulled his hand back and made him skid to a stop. “You have class.”

 

“It’s just Space Navi, I have that one in the bag.” Shiro shrugged rather cockily. She gave him a disapproving look and he sighed, “I’ll find an excuse. Besides, Commander Dos loves me.”

 

She knows she shouldn’t have, but Allura felt a pang of jealousy at his words. Of course he could afford to skip classes, he was the teacher’s pet. But all of that went out the window when Shiro’s eyes softened and his head deflated as he looked at her, “I just… I miss you. We barely see each other anymore. Look, I want to go home too, but we can’t. Allura, you’re the closest thing I have to home, and I feel like I’m losing you.”

 

Allura sighed, shoulders relaxing as she reached up to brush the tuft of hair that had grown from his haircut, out of his eyes, “Shiro, you’re not losing me. You’re never going to lose me.”

 

He smiled as she stepped closer and held his face in her hands, forcing him to look into her eyes. Bright, glistening from the left over tears. His heart thumped faster in his chest when she said the words, and he felt it beat even faster when she ran her fingers under his jaw. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing seemed to come out. From her eyes, his gaze shifted to her lips and suddenly he’d forgotten how to breathe.

 

Has she always been this beautiful? No, he always knew she was attractive, but _this_ _fucking beautiful_. The only time he’d been so enraptured in something was when he looked up at the sky at night and saw the expanse of billions of stars that seemed to embrace the universe. But this was just like the same thing, wasn’t it?

 

Her hair was the soft glow of the moon, her skin was the settling darkness over the earth that gave way for the stars to shine, and her eyes… _God_ , her eyes. Her eyes were the colors of the light in galaxies far away. Her eyes held nebulas, supernovas and all the majesties of the cosmos.

Has she always been this beautiful?

 

Has he ever been this close?

 

Was she… getting closer?

 

Shiro’s chest began to hurt as his heart rattled against his ribs. She was getting closer, she was getting closer and he didn’t know what to do. No, he _did_ know what he _wanted_ to do, but something in the back of his head was pulling him in the other direction of what he was aching to do.

 

Shiro swallowed as he found himself wrapping his arms around her waist. Yes, this was what he wanted to do… but was it what he was supposed to do?

 

Half lidded eyes hypnotized him into leaning in and meeting her half way and he was sure he wasn’t breathing anymore. He was going to kiss Allura…

 

Amazing, charming, smart, _beautiful_ Allura. His best friend, Allura…

 

With an inch left between them he finally figured out how to breath and he sucked in a breath. It was as if the oxygen intake pulled him back down to earth.

 

 _His best friend, Allura!_  

 

“Shirogane! Smythe!” A voice boomed from behind them. Suddenly, she was light years away from him. The warmth of her fingers fell away from his jaw and a sour, cold, hollowness spread through his chest. He turned to see Commander Iverson marching down towards them. “What the _hell_ do you think you’re doing?!”

 

Shiro squeezed his eyes shut as he shook his head, straightening his back and squaring his shoulders to attention, “S-Sir, I–,”

 

“It was my fault, sir.” Allura spoke before coherent thoughts could even form in Shiro’s head. Iverson turned his attention towards her. “I told him to skip class.”

 

Iverson glared at her, “And he _listened?_ ”

 

“No, sir, he was about to go back, but I tried to…” Allura coughed at the lie. What was she about to say? That she tried to _seduce_ him into staying with her? To a Senior Officer?

 

Iverson finished for her, “Sabotage his chances at being top pilot for a session of hanky panky. I see.”

 

“No, sir–,” Shiro began to butt in but Iverson was having none of it.

 

“Two weeks detention for you, Smythe!” He yelled, cutting Shiro off. Allura ground her teeth together and nodded, “Yes, sir.”

 

“And you.” He turned to Shiro. He gave him a once over and then turned his back, “Get back to class.”

 

“But, sir–!”

 

“Dismissed.” Iverson stated with a wave of the hand. They watched him disappear through the doors they came through. And then they were alone.

 

A blush crept up Shiro’s neck as he looked over at Allura. “Allura, I-I’m sorry–,”

 

He expected her to be upset, but instead she looked lost. Her face was flushed and she was blinking at where Iverson stood. She looked towards him slowly, and then took a breath. “It’s okay… it’s… it’s just detention. Get back to class.”

 

Shiro frowned at the change in her mood. She looked uncomfortable and he couldn’t help but feel that it was his fault. “Allura…”

 

Hesitantly, he reached out for her hand. She let him take it and finally met his gaze. It was different from earlier, darker, more clouded and closed. And it felt like a door had been slammed shut in his face. She looked away before he could read into it even more, and said, “I’ll see you later, Shiro.”

 

She pulled her hand from him and walked away. He watched her disappear as she turned a corner behind a pillar, and just like that he was alone and he felt like his heart had stopped beating altogether.

 

* * *

  
  


He didn’t see her later that day.

 

In fact, he hadn’t seen her in three days. He tried to visit her dorm, but her roommate insisted that she wasn’t there and that she was in the library instead. He would then be told the same thing in the library and be sent on a wild goose chase until he had to do something for class or his extracurriculars.

 

He dismissed it as her being busy with school works. He wished it were that as he tried to ignore the sinking feeling that she was avoiding him.

  
  


* * *

  


She was avoiding him.

 

Romelle smiled at Shiro as she peeked from the little crevice she made of her dorm room. She watched as he craned his neck to try to get a glimpse of the inside, but she blocked his view with her head mimicking his movements.

 

“You’re… sure she isn’t there?” he asked hesitantly. It was obvious that he didn’t want to pry, but he was desperate all the same.

 

“Shiro, it’s a single dorm room. It has a dresser, a bathroom and two beds. There are literally no other places in here she could be hiding in.” She pointed out. She sighed when she realized how harsh it must have sounded, then shifted to a lighter tone. Again, she asked him, “Have you checked the library?”

 

Shiro gave her a nod, “Yeah, she… she wasn’t there. No one’s seen her today either.”

 

“Well, I’m sure she’s fine.”

 

Romelle gave Shiro a reassuring smile, one of which he returned with a tired one. It was then that Romelle saw the hidden pain behind his eyes.

 

She liked Shiro, he was a good guy. Being Allura’s roommate gave her the privilege of being able to meet  Takashi and be his friend too. He was a great one, even went as far as doing some of her homework for her while she was out when he and Allura would hang out in their room. He’s kind and gentle and she couldn’t help but feel terrible to see him looking so downcast.

 

“Hey,” she spoke gently, “I’ll tell her you’re looking for her when she comes back, okay?”

 

Shiro gave her a small nod and said, “Thanks, Ro.”

 

When he was safely out of sight, Romelle shut the door and turned to the lump under her blanket. It spoke, “ _Is he gone_?”

 

“You’re a terrible person.” she hissed, grabbing her deodorant stick on the dresser beside her and chucking it at the lump, causing it to yelp, “Ow!”

 

“Allura, it’s been _three days_.” She hissed and made her way to her bed. Allura popped her big mass of hair out of the covers and pouted at her roommate, “I know.”

 

“You have to stop torturing the boy. He looks like a mess!” Romelle exclaimed, backhanding whatever part of Allura’s body was placed on the right side of the lump. Allura scowled and Romelle mirrored her sour look. “Have you seen that boy when he’s upset? It feels like I’ve robbed him of… of… ice cream _,_ Allura! It’s like I’ve robbed a handsome, attractive, hunky boy, whose favorite food happens to be ice cream, of _bloody_ ice cream!”

 

Allura frowned, “I’ve always thought it was _lost puppy_.”

 

Romelle gave her a disbelieving look and then in one swift movement, smacked her face with a pillow. Allura whined, “I know, I know, I’m sorry!”

 

“You have to talk to him.”

 

“I can’t!”

 

“Why not?!” Romelle exclaimed. She was getting sick of seeing Shiro’s sad-puppy-ice cream-robbed face everyday and she was getting even _more_ sick of why she had to see it. She loved her friends dearly, both Allura and Shiro, but _why_ couldn’t they _just_ make up. “I don’t even see the problem here! You like him, he likes you back. Kiss, go out, graduate, go to space, get married on the moon, have Mars conceived children– it’s just so simple Allura! He’s. _Right. There.”_

 

“I can’t, Ro,” Allura whined pathetically, rolling over and burying her face into the pillow. Romelle groaned. “I can’t because he’s my best friend and if this doesn’t work out, I– things will be awkward, and I don’t want them to be awkward.”

 

“Allura, you’re being silly. How could you two _not_ work out? You’re perfect for each other!”

 

Muffled, Allura grumbled, “What?”

 

Romelle rolled her eyes and yanked the ends of her hair in frustration. “Blind! You’re both blind.”

 

“It's impossible to get into this grade of the garrison without 20/20 vision, Ro. I assure you, I'm not blind.”

 

“Allura!”

 

“Sorry!” Allura croaked and lifted her head from the pillow. She’d started crying, and Romelle’s heart softened for just a moment, before it hardened again at how stubborn Allura was being. She sat beside her friend and wrapped her in a sympathetic  hug. Allura conceded, “I like him, hell, I _might_ even love him. We’ve known each other since we were 5, Ro. We’ve been through so much. He handed me my first pad in the bathroom when I had my first period at his house!”

 

Romelle swooned.

 

“And he knows me so well. He knows everything about me, and things are good now. I go to him when I need him and I’ll be better about it in a tick and the same goes around with him to me.” She turned and looked at Romelle, breaking free from her embrace, “But what would happen if we got together and we fought about something? Relationships are like that, right? You fight and then nothing is right anymore, so– so you break up and it was like there was nothing there at all.”

 

Allura thought back to her previous relationships as a child. When she was in sixth grade and she dated (much to her fathers’ disapproval) a boy who she never saw again after graduation, at age 15 she had a girlfriend who (thankfully) moved away. They all ended in fights and irreconcilable differences… what would happen if that was what happened with her and Shiro?

 

“I can’t risk it.” She whispered in finality. “I can’t lose him.”

 

She wanted to say something, something to tell her she was wrong without feeling like she'd slap her across the face, but understanding, Romelle refrained and nodded. She’d been friends to know long enough that when Allura made her decision, that was that.

 

“Well at least talk to the guy.” Romelle urged, “He really does look like a mess.”

 

Allura groaned, “Ugh, I’m a _terrible_ person.”

 

“No, you aren’t.” Romelle assured her, “You’re a bitch, but you’re not terrible.”

 

And then it was her turn to get smacked across the face with a pillow.

 

* * *

  
  


Shiro shut his eyes as he sat there and tried to listen to Matt drone on about his day. He would love to hear all about it, but he just couldn’t seem to bring himself to actually comprehend what he was saying. That was, until her name was mentioned and his eyes snapped open as if he were called to attention by Iverson.

 

“Wait… go back– what was that?” he interrupted. Matt blinked up at him and smirked, “Huh, I’d thought you were asleep.”

 

“I’m not– sorry, it’s just,” Shiro sighed and slumped back down to his seat, “Been a long day.”

 

“I hear ya, buddy.” Matt nodded and walked over towards Shiro. He settled himself beside him and stretched his legs out on the coffee table. “I said this kid Charles was being a dick about his test scores–”

 

“About Allura.” Shiro clarified, keeping his gaze up at the ceiling.

 

“Oh,” Matt smiled sheepishly, though behind it was someone who knew exactly what he was doing. “I saw Allura at the library.”

 

Shiro’s neck strained as he pulled his head up to look at Matt. “How– _ow!”_

 

“Easy, man.” Matt laughed, seemingly amused at his friends’ misery. “She was returning a book.”

 

“And…?”

 

“And what?”

 

Shiro grew frustrated. Matt was nothing but amused. “Well, did you talk to her? At all? Say hello?”

 

“Why would you care?” Matt was milking it, a coy smile spreading on his lips.

 

“Just–!” Shiro held his tongue and took a breath, composing himself. His eyes narrowed. Matt had taken his glasses off. “You didn’t say hello?”

 

“‘Course I did.”

 

Shiro sprang up and swung one of the cushions of the couch they were sitting on across Matt’s face.

 

Matt burst out laughing as Shiro scowled at him, “Matt!”

 

“Okay, jeez,” Matt grinned and threw the pillow back at Shiro. “I told her you were looking for her and she said she’ll text you or something.”

 

Shiro stared at Matt, expecting more to the story. Getting uncomfortable, Matt squirmed under his scrutiny. “That’s it.”

 

“That’s it?!” Shiro exclaimed, his voice louder than he’d expected it to be. He was losing his mind. He hadn’t seen or heard from her in three days and when he does all he gets is word that she would text him? That’s _it?_

 

Matt shrugged, “Yeah, sorry, man.”

 

Shiro sighed and stood up from his seat. “It’s fine. You did nothing wrong. Thanks, Matt.”

 

That night, Shiro lied awake in the midst of Matt’s excessive snoring echoing throughout their room. Funnily enough, it wasn’t the loud snorts that was keeping him awake. No, his thoughts were on her, and what was happening. Was it because she got detention and he didn’t and she was mad at him? Was it because he couldn’t make it that afternoon to their planned meet up? His head swirled with possibilities of why she could be upset with him all of the sudden. He built countless excuses as to why she would be avoiding him, and yet doged the most prominent and logical reason why she was straying from him like he was the plague.

 

That moment they had. He hadn’t stopped thinking about it since it happened. He was called out by the teacher thrice when he got back in class because he kept spacing out. Was he really planning on kissing her? Was she really planning on kissing him? He would think about it, and then he would remember what it felt like. It felt like running a marathon, first place just an arm’s width away. It felt like Zero G and his brain was deprived of oxygen. It felt like the first heatwave of summer and his cold bones were thawing out. It felt new, and exciting and… frightening.

 

His best friend. She was his _best friend_. Three days ago, he wanted nothing more than to spend his life with her in it. For her to be a part of his life like she had been for 14 years, for her to be there– just a few minutes or a phone call away. But now… why did it feel so different.

 

It was a _ding!_ And a soft light that illuminated the room that snapped him out of his reverie. He squinted his eyes to adjust to the light as he looked at the time on his phone. It took him a minute to process that it was already 2 in the morning, and another minute for him to notice that he was texted by none other than Allura.

* * *

  
  


**[Allura the Alien]**

_I have a movie idea._

 

**[Shiro the Hero]**

Let’s hear it.

**[Allura the Alien]**

_Killer whales learn how to walk_

_Theyre led by a princess_

_&  start a protest against ocean themed amusement parks _

 

**[Shiro the Hero]**

I love it.

Who would star in it?

**[Allura the Alien]**

_Matt Damon_

_The killer whale princess can be voiced by Sandra Bullock_

 

**[Shiro the Hero]**

The killer whales can talk?

Too expensive to hire them. Next?

**[Allura the Alien]**

_How else would they chant about Animal Cruelty?_

_Hmm… all actors are expensive_

 

**[Shiro the Hero]**

You’re right.

Have you thought of a chant?

Indie film. You could be the princess.

I could always do it for free.

 

**[Allura the Alien]**

_Not yet_

_“Fish want the sea, set us free” sound good?_

_No, u’re expensive when it comes to maintenance_

 

**[Shiro the Hero]**

I like that.

Whales arent fish

But what about: “Your food sucks, we want

No

**[Allura the Alien]**

_God, shiro_

**[Shiro the Hero]**

Nevermind.

I tried to think of that on the spot.

Hahahaha

It wasn’t going to end well.

What do you mean “maintenance”?

I’m lowkey!

**[Allura the Alien]**

_U wish_

 

**[Shiro the Hero]**

All I ask for is some tender love and care.

A few pats on the head.

Hugs and kisses.

Hello?

**[Allura the Alien]**

_As I said, expensive_

_“Killer Whale 1 by Takashi Shirogane”_

_I can see it now_

**[Shiro the Hero]**

HAHAHAHA.

It’ll be a blockbuster hit.

Aren’t you tired yet?

**[Allura the Alien]**

_Exhausted_

_But that dream woke me up_

_Now I can’t sleep_

_Why are you still up?_

 

**[Shiro the Hero]**

Physics term paper.

**[Allura the Alien]**

_Thought u were done with that?_

 

**[Shiro the Hero]**

For extra credit.

**[Allura the Alien]**

U don’t need the extra credit

Shiro, get some rest

Stop tiring urself out

U’ll get sick

**[Shiro the Hero]**

I’m fine.

I wont get sick.

Im indestructible.

Im a killer whale.

**[Allura the Alien]**

_Yeah, whatever_

_Keep telling urself that_

_Not yet, dumbass, i havent hired u yet_

**[Shiro the Hero]**

When’s auditions?

**[Allura the Alien]**

_Tomorrow?_

_Vrepit Sal’s off campus?_

**[Shiro the Hero]**

It’s a date.

I mean, an audition date.

What d

What do i wear

**[Allura the Alien]**

_Um yeah_

_A date_

_No wait_

 

**[Shiro the Hero]**

It’s a date?

No it

Wait

What

**[Allura the Alien]**

_Not a date._

**[Shiro the Hero]**

Not a date.

**[Allura the Alien]**

_Whale head would be fine._

_You can invest in flippers when I cast you_

_If***_

**[Shiro the Hero]**

Gotcha.

Goodnight, Allura.

**[Allura the Alien]**

Night, Shiro.

I lumps some catch no row mail shut no

**[Shiro the Hero]**

I didn’t get that.

**[Allura the Alien]**

_Sorry!!_

Phone glitched!

Picked up Romelle’s sleep talking

About mail lumps

**[Shiro the Hero]**

?

Hahaha alright

Maybe snail lumps can be part of the movie too.

**[Allura the Alien]**

_Maybe_

_Goodnight Shiro I’ll see u tomorrow_

**[Shiro the Hero]**

Goodnight, princess :)

Whale princess.

I meant

Goodnight.

**[Allura the Alien]**

_Goodnight_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am also on tumblr: mycacoeths


	4. The Suit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone gets a little too arrogant with his shirt off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof someone a jelly // huhu im super upset that i didn't get to participate in shallura week but I hope I can get some late submissions in for my babies :--(

  1. **The Suit**



 

“That looks gross.” 

 

“What?” Shiro exclaimed, face dropping as he looked down at his suit. “It’s purple.” 

 

“Exactly.” Allura said, setting down her phone to encompass his outfit with both her hands. “You look like Willy Wonka.” 

 

Shiro gasped in fake offense, “I would not knowingly murder four children.” 

 

Allura shook her head and giggled, “Well you dress like you would.” 

 

“Mm, noted.” Shiro chuckled and walked back into the dressing room. It was a week before their Graduation Banquet. They’ve finally finished their time in the Galaxy Garrison as students, and will finally be able to move up to bigger projects and titles such as being Commanders and Captains. Shiro had been bringing up the Kerberos Base for a while now, which was miles away from the Garrison, not to mention it had a mandatory trip to the Kerberos moon. 

 

He’d brought it up when they met up for his Talking Killer Whale audition at Vrepit Sal’s. He was there after classes and she showed up not long after.

* * *

 

_ He stood from his seat, knees hitting the edge of the table and making the coffee cup clatter in its saucer as she entered the diner. Vrepit Sal’s was a diner in the nearest town to the garrison. It had fairly okay drinks, crappy food and an air conditioning unit that worked 1/10 times, but strangely Shiro and Allura still found the place delightful to stay at when they would have nowhere else to go. Commissary food may be good, but it can also get sickening. A few overcooked steaks and pancakes were always a welcomed refresher.  _

 

_ He opened his mouth to greet her and glanced at the coffee too late, it had begun spilling over the table an onto his pants. He cursed under his breath as he tried to clean it up with the table napkins from the tin dispenser.  _

 

_ She hadn’t even muttered a hello when she rushed over to help him. A waiter came over after a few moments of watching the two make a fool out of themselves with the spilled coffee, and offered them assistance.  _

 

_ They talked and laughed as if Allura hadn’t been avoiding him for the past three days and as if Shiro hadn’t been hunting for her like a deranged bloodhound. Allura apologized for it along the road and passed it off as her trying to catch up on other classes to gain more units. Shiro assured her that it was fine.  _

 

_ None of them brought up the almost-kiss.  _

 

_ Was it an almost kiss? Could it have counted as that? By this time, they’d both thought about it individually too much and the lines between what they wanted to happen, what had really happened and what they tried to convince themself happened instead had been blurred and each point had blended into each other. Some fragments of their minds said they never almost-kissed at all, and some were convinced that they really had.  _

 

_ But none of them brought up the almost-kiss.  _

 

_ Unbeknownst to them, they agreed on one thing: feelings towards each other were to be buried deep down. Deep, deep down. Locked up in a box, never to see the light of day again. Ever. _

 

_ It was after they’d shared a laugh that Shiro stared at her fondly. With a determined look in his eye, he settled his coffee cup down and leaned forward, “Let’s get out of here.”  _

 

_ Allura took a sip of her milkshake, and her eyes stared back just as fondly, “Where shall we go?” She took another sip, “The bowling alley closes at 9, skating rink at 8. It’s 6, we still have time–,”  _

 

_ “No, I mean,” Shiro smiled into his cup, amused, “Out. Away from here. Kerberos.”  _

 

_ Allura blinked. A few moments of her silence passed, not too much to make it awkward, before she spoke again. It was quiet and unsure, “Kerberos?”  _

 

_ Shiro nodded, a serious but excited look in his eyes, “Kerberos. It’s a base and a mission. We manage the base here on Earth and go on research trips to Pluto’s moon, Kerberos. They’re recruiting.”  _

 

_ “But… that’s so far away.”  _

 

_ “Allura, we’ve always said we wanted adventure.” He smiled at her, reaching out to take her hand in his. She startled at the sudden contact, but relaxed when the familiar warmth of his fingers spread through her palm. He urged, “This is it.”  _

 

_ “I…” she blinked, taking a moment to look at her best friend. Working on a high priority base? Going out to space? Having adventures? Slowly, a grin broke through her relaxed features as she squeezed his hand back. “Where do we sign up?”  _

 

_ Shiro’s excitement got the better of him as he slammed his hand on the table in honor of his little victory of convincing Allura. It caused Allura to yelp and then break into a loud laugh as all the other customers in the diner stared at them and as his second cup of coffee spilled over the table once again. _

* * *

 

That was over a month ago. Things had went back to normal since then. Admittedly, Allura would still unnoticeably gush about Shiro to Romelle and she wouldn’t realize it until she pointed it out. Shiro could also confess that he’d stay up and ask about Allura to Matt (who shared 2 classes with her) while his roommate tried to get some sleep. Those conversations always ended up with Matt either burying his head in his pillow, or making sure he’d be asleep before Shiro came home from his afternoon workout or something. 

 

Now things couldn’t be better. Graduation Banquet was coming up– it was a dinner in a large location also nearby (or as near as civilization can get to) the Garrison. There would be food and dancing and awards and then an after party for all the students to enjoy their last moments of being cadets before the ceremony two days later. 

 

“What color are  _ you  _ wearing?” Shiro yelled from the fitting room, shrugging the dress shirt off. When no one answered, he called out, “Allura?” 

 

“Hm?” 

 

“I said what color are you wearing?” 

 

“Erm… pink, I think.” 

 

“Shouldn’t I wear a pink suit too then?” Shiro squinted in suspicion at the lack of answer  again. “Allura?”

 

“Yes! Yes?” 

 

Popping his head out of the curtain, he glared at Allura who was smiling at her phone. He  _ psst- _ ed a few times, but when her attention couldn’t be called, he flung his recently discarded shirt at her face. 

 

“Ow, Shiro–!” She scowled. Her eyes widened as she took sight of his disapproving glare… and his lack of coverage on his… above area… has he always been that built? 

 

Shaking herself out of it, she glared at him back, “What?”

 

“Who are you talking to?” 

 

“This… no one.” 

 

“Hmm… Was asking if I should wear pink too.” He smirked rather cockily, obviously not missing that split second when her eyes swept over the exposed skin of his shoulders. Just to spite her (and maybe show off) he slipped out of the fitting room and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Or if I should just go like this.”

 

“ _ Jesus _ , Takashi!” She gasped, hurling his shirt back at him. “We’re in public!” 

 

Shiro caught it with a laugh and put his hands on his hips, “Now you’re paying attention to me?” 

 

“Shiro, stop! People are staring!” Allura had since gotten off her seat to push him back in the fitting room, but he resisted and held his ground. “Go back inside!” 

 

Don’t get him wrong, he wouldn’t have done it if there  _ were _ people there. He’d only done it when he made sure there was no one there but her, so what she was saying was a lie. Shiro’s laughter grew as the red tint on Allura’s cheeks spread down her neck and the tips of her ears. “Who were you ignoring me for?” 

 

“No one! It’s just this guy.”

 

“‘ _ This guy’?” _

 

“Lotor! Move, Takashi!”

 

“Lotor? Rich boy Lotor?” 

 

He wasn’t going to lie when he too began to build up a blush when her hands landed on his skin as she tried to shove him back inside. He chuckled and gave in when he caught sight of an old woman give them a strange look.

 

She grunted and pushed him back through the curtains with all her might. Weakened by his laugh, Shiro took one step back onto the curtain. It took two seconds to process what was happening. Shiro had stepped on the curtain and with Allura’s weight on him, had fallen backwards. There was a ripping and multiple  _ clinks _ ! And then a loud thud, before he found himself on his back and Allura on top of him with her hands on his bare chest. 

 

His laughter ceased slowly and so did hers. When it died down, he watched her eyes soften as she looked at him. Her hair was disheveled and her breathing ragged as she tried to catch her breath. He took in her scent of roasted almonds and vanilla from their trip to a nearby cafe earlier, and her familiar warm marshmallow-like smell beneath it. And then again, her eyes that held the universe has captured his ship and left him stranded in space with nowhere to go. Until his gaze trailed down to her lips– 

 

“Are you alright?” said a voice, snapping him out of his trance. It seemed that it did the same thing to Allura. She blinked as if she’d just woken up and then pushed herself off of him. 

 

A young woman in uniform came into view as she peeked through the torn curtain at the two of them. She opened her mouth to say something but then closed it as color spread through her cheeks and she gave them a bashful smile, “You two okay?” 

 

Allura was quick to answer, “Just fine.” She pushed herself off of Shiro completely and in one swift motion, she was standing and brushing herself off. It occurred to Shiro what they might have looked like– how  _ guilty _ they might have looked like. 

 

“Sorry about the curtain,” Shiro spoke, standing and brushing off too. “It was my fault, I’ll pay for it.” 

 

The young clerk’s came out small and her answer came out a few beats too late for Allura’s liking. Out of Shiro’s view, she narrowed her eyes at the woman whose gaze seemed to stray from Shiro’s face. “You don’t have to, it’s perfectly alright.” 

 

“We’ll just… move to the…” Shiro stuttered and tripped over his feet as he gathered his clothes on the floor. “We’ll get out of your hair. Move somewhere… ‘lura?” 

 

“Hm?” Allura hummed, jumping at the sound of her name. She took one look at Shiro’s red face and sprang into action, “We’ll just be going on our way, I think we have what we’re looking for.” 

 

Allura gave the woman a tight smile as she gathered up the closest thing she could feel as fabric from the hangers hanging from the peg on the wall. She grabbed Shiro’s hand and tugged him away as she sped past the lady whose gaze followed them until they disappeared out of her sight. 

 

Shiro had put a shirt on as they walked away, but she paid him no mind. She was looking straight ahead, and  _ not _ thinking about what the  _ hell _ just happened. 

 

The silence between them bared heavy on her shoulders as they marched indefinitely throughout the store. Allura thanked whoever god was watching them when Shiro cleared his throat and actual words came out his mouth, “So– so that’s what we’re going with?” 

 

Her reply was short, mechanical. “Mhm.” 

 

Shiro huffed and ran a hand through his tousled up hair. It took a few more painful moments before he spoke again. “Nothing happened.”

 

Again with her reply, this time, it was to confirm. “Nothing happened.”

 

“I tripped.”

 

“You tripped.”

 

“And you fell on me.”   
  


“And I fell on top of you!” she whispered aggressively, turning on her heel sharply and facing towards him. Shiro took a step back and frowned. 

 

Allura clutched the suit draped over her arm closer to her chest and sighed in frustration. “Shiro, I… it’s… I–,” 

 

“Did you feel anything?” he asked. His eyes looked apologetic that he was putting her on the spot, but it was due time that they figured out what this energy was around them. Allura looked away from him when he asked again and her mind drifted off to the issue at hand a month ago. Shiro was her best friend. She couldn’t have feelings for him, she can’t  _ lose _ him like  _ that _ . 

 

A part of her, a very large part of her, wanted to believe that they could work out. It was Shiro, they were  _ best friends _ ; a  _ team. _ They could conquer anything together, they have been for all their lives… but love changed things didn’t it? Love was beautiful to look at but poisonous to touch. Love was a temptation to risk everything they’ve ever built their whole lives.

 

He was her best friend. It would be wrong. All of it, all the years of their lives leading up to now should be protected, not put on a line. That was it. It was to be protected. 

 

But why had she suddenly felt the urge to kiss him? Twice? More than twice? This boy who’d she’d grown up with feeling like he was family all her life? Was it because he got taller? He’d finally grown into his ears? His jaw was more defined? He worked out and got a  _ glorious _ body– fuck, she was trailing off. Was it because of hormones? Hormones. Got to be, but–

 

“I didn’t.” was said, but it didn’t come from her. It was him who said it. She looked up at him and he’d taken another step back and he couldn’t seem to meet her eyes. “Don’t… worry about it, okay? I didn’t feel anything.” 

 

Fussing thoughts came to a stop, and white hot, irrational anger flooded through her body. It was a paradigm shift of wanting to be with him and then wanting nothing to do with him. Rejection. This was rejection. She took a deep breath to calm herself and gave him a short nod in return.  “That’s… I didn’t either.”

 

“Good.” 

 

“Great.” 

 

“Fine.” 

 

“Fantastic! So now things can go back to normal. I  _ hate _ this awkward jig going on.” She said, already turned away from him to walk ahead, not wanting to see his face, not wanting him to see her face as her eyes threatened the outbreak of tears. 

 

Shiro didn’t answer, and they walked over to the cashier, paid for the suit, and then got in the car.

 

The silence was filled with the sound of the engine revving during the car ride back to the dorms. Shiro couldn’t bring himself to turn on some music, but he couldn’t bare the silence any longer, so he spoke the most unforgiving words he could ever utter in his life, “Lotor, huh?” 

 

Takashi Shirogane wanted nothing more than to clock himself right in the jaw. 

 

Allura sighed, her straight posture and puffed up chest deflating just a little in the corner of his eye. “Yeah…” 

 

“What’s going on?” 

 

A smile crept up her lips. Not a mischievous one, or a taunting one, just… a small shy one. “He asked me to the Banquet.”

 

Takashi Shirogane wanted  _ nothing more than to clock himself right in the jaw.  _

 

“What… did you say?” 

 

Allura looked over to him for the first time during the entire drive. She gave him a look as if the answer were obvious, “I said no. I’m going with you.”

 

“Ah,” Shiro pursed his lips and swallowed.  _ She said no _ . 

 

“What about you?” 

 

“What  _ about _ me?” 

 

“Has anyone else asked you?” she wondered. Shiro shrugged and nodded, “Yeah, a few.” 

 

_ “Shiro, that’s like the seventh person you’ve turned down.”  Matt scoffed as Shiro shut the door to their dorm.  _

 

_ “Shut up, I’m going with Allura.”  _

 

“And…?” 

 

Shiro inhaled and tightened his hold on the steering wheel. “I… said no because I was going with you too.” 

 

Allura hummed and nodded, crossing her arms over her chest, “You sound regretful.” 

 

“Regretful of what?” 

 

“That you said no to all the others.” She clarified, an edge in her tone. Shiro was quick to defend himself, “What–  _ well _ !” 

 

“Well?” 

 

“Who knows, maybe I don’t want to go–” Shiro bit his tongue and clenched his jaw. He couldn’t continue, he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. He wanted to go with Allura. He was open to whoever asked him, it was just he was more open to the fact that he got to go with Allura.

 

Having it cut off there was apparently a big mistake. “Oh, you  _ don’t want to go. _ ” Allura repeated, dragging each syllable. “Well why  _ don’t  _ you?” 

 

“That’s not what I said.” Shiro had begun to grow impatient and irritable, “I said I was going to it you.” 

 

Allura scowled. “You don’t  _ have  _ to take  _ me _ .” 

 

“You said you weren’t going with him.” 

 

“Well if it’s convenient for you, then why not?” 

 

Shiro opened his mouth to say something to defend himself again, but then another thought interjected and he ended up accusing her, “You’re just trying to get me to say you can go with Lotor.” 

 

“What? I–!” 

 

“If you want to go with Lotor, then go with Lotor.” Shiro almost growled. 

 

Allura gave him a look of disbelief. How dare he accuse her of– maybe  _ he  _ just wanted her to leave so he could go ask some other person to the dance and not be stuck with  _ her. _

 

Oh. At the thought, Allura felt a fresh pang of pain in her chest. It was a possibility that made her keep her lips sealed and say nothing in return. 

 

Shiro had stopped the car in front of the dorms. Allura had been quiet the rest of the ride, and the silence got him to reflect on what exactly had happened a few moments ago. He lost his temper, and so did she. They never fought like  _ that  _ before, and to be frank, it scared the living hell out of him.  He let out a sigh and turned to Allura. It felt like a knife had been driven into his chest as he took in her appearance. She was looking down at her lap, hands balled up into angry fists as she took deep breaths. 

 

A stray tear that visibly stained her pants made the pain in Shiro’s chest worsen as he spotted it. He reached out a hand to touch her and in a soft voice, whispered, “Allura…” 

 

But she flinched away at his touch and as if he’d given her the ability to move again, she straightened and rubbed at her eyes quick before opening the door and leaving him in his car, alone. 

 


	5. The Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> theyre jealous idiots i lov them

**5\. The Dance**

 

“You’re going to be okay?” Romelle asked as she put the final touches to her make up on her face. A date was waiting outside their dorm room and she was rushing to get out, but she couldn’t forget about Allura.  


Allura came running in, sobbing, earlier that afternoon. She crashed into Romelle’s arms. She gushed about what had happened in the mall and in the car and sat there for a few hours, finishing off a roll of paper towels.

 

“I’ll be fine.”

 

“I’ll see you at the party.” Romelle gave her a short hug before she rushed out the door. Allura smiled as she heard the boy behind the door stutter out a poor excuse for a greeting to her friend.

 

Once they were gone, the silence enveloped the room like a wave. Her soft pink dress hung on the closet door and her shoes sat just below it. She was supposed to be getting ready, she’d given Lotor an indefinite answer, telling him she might or might not go depending on whether her (fake) appointment with the dentist turned out alright. She gave him the go signal to choose another girl to go with, but he gave her a charming _“I’d rather not go if it weren’t with you”._ Her fragile heart melted, but she insisted that she would rather have him have him go to the party anyway if she didn’t go to compensate for her (fake) wisdom tooth pain.

 

Was it worth it? To go and not see Shiro? To see Shiro be there with someone else? Why the hell did she care? She was supposed to be his friend. She was supposed to support whatever he wanted to do. When had she become so… territorial? When did _he_ become so territorial? It was like a switch was flipped and suddenly they were living in an upside down world and she didn’t even have an inkling of when, where or how it began.

 

There was a weight in her stomach and she believed was her heart. It had somehow solidified into a rock that fell from its place in her chest down there, where it weighed her down like a disgusting parasite. Why was everything with Shiro so topsy turvy? She couldn’t help but think about his words earlier that day. _I didn’t feel anything_ . Why had she gotten so upset over that? That’s what he was _supposed_ to feel. Nothing. Nothing but embarrassment and discomfort. That was it. It should have been funny, but it wasn’t. Stars in Heaven, _she_ was supposed to not feel anything! But… did she? Was she so upset because he didn’t feel anything when she did? _Did she feel something when she made it clear to herself that she was supposed to not?!_

 

Allura jerked from her still position in bed when three raps on the door interrupted the thoughts that filled her silence. She mulled over the probability of not getting up and having the visitor think no one was home and walk away. She waited.

 

One… Two… Three…

 

_Knock, knock, knock!_

 

Four…

 

_Knock knock!_

 

Fiv–

 

_THUD, THUD, THUD!_

 

Her throat released an inhuman groan as she hauled her heavy body up from bed and waddled towards the door. The person behind kept knocking tirelessly and Allura wanted nothing more than to pull their knuckles out one by one.

 

She opened it slowly and was greeted by Shiro’s face, his fist raised to knock again. She looked dead into his eyes, not even considering his bashful look, before going to close the door on him again. She didn’t need another argument fueled with _whateverthefuck_ tonight.

 

“Wait, wait, wait!” a hand darted forward to stop the door from closing and when Allura pushed on it, a leather shoe took its place on the floor. Allura groaned and opened the door wider in reluctance, giving Shiro a pointed look to tell him to get on with it.

 

“I know you don’t want to see me.” he started. Allura rolled her eyes and nodded before beginning to shut the door again. “But! Allura–!”

 

She sighed and spared him a wary gaze. He gave her a sad smile, empathizing with her, as he raised a strip of black silk, “I need help with my tie.”

 

Allura bit her lip. She knew it was a play. She knew he was a trick to get her to talk to him; and that she shouldn’t take the bait. But as Shiro’s eyes held a hopeful glint in them as he dangled the cloth in front of their faces, she couldn’t help but sigh and step aside to let him in. “Stupid.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.” he drawled, but grinned at the same time.

 

“I like your dress.” Shiro complimented, looking down at her as she reached up to fix his tie. She hummed in response. The dress was behind him, showcased in a plastic cover up she was still deciding on removing or leaving on. Shiro continued, “No, really. I think the blue ducks would go great with your shoes.”

 

 _Blue ducks?_ Allura took a moment to fully understand what he was saying. It dawned on her that he was talking about her pajamas and not her dress. She shoved him back and he laughed. She reveled at the sound of his laughter. She loved it when he laughed, it reminded her of the time she slept over at his place (with the utmost supervision, of course) and they barely slept because they kept laughing.

 

She pursed her lips and bit back a smile, and Shiro didn’t miss it. He grinned along with her and nudged her elbow with his hand, “Hey, I’m sorry.”

 

She looked up at him and sighed, “It’s okay.”

 

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist to give her a hug. “I hate it when you’re mad at me.”

 

Allura giggled as he nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck. His hair was soft as it tickled her ear and she couldn’t help but notice how good he smelled. Her shoulders fell at the feeling as she wrapped her arms around him.

 

Shiro squeezed her tighter before he pulled away and held her at arm’s length, “I… have– did something for you… erm,” he paused, “I’m not quite sure if you’ll like it.”

 

Allura frowned, “Shiro, we literally _just_ made up.”

 

“I know, I know, but I felt bad and– I. I want to say it’s Matt’s idea but it’s actually really _mine_ technically.” He bit his lip. His foot tapped restlessly as he tried to piece together whatever he was trying to tell her. “I told Lotor I’d convince you to come to the dance.”

 

Allura blinked. Her stomach flipped and she couldn’t figure out if it was a good thing or not. “Oh,” was what she uttered.

 

“He called me earlier– _weird,_ by the way– and asked if he could take you.”

 

“W-what did you say?”

 

Shiro shrugged. “I told him I wasn’t sure if you were going because you had a dentist’s appointment, which I know you don’t but–”

 

“I _did_.” Allura grinned a little at the familiar lie and Shiro stifled a snort.

 

“–I just told him I’d see if you were alright and that I’d drive you there if you were.” His bottom lip still caught in his teeth, he winced, “Are you?”

 

Allura screwed her face up and hummed in thought, “Well… the dentist did say my root canal was due for a replacement in a week.”

 

Shiro gave her a look, “That’s… not how it works…”

 

Allura laughed and shoved him back, “Let me get dressed, you idiot.”

* * *

 

 

“Shiro?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“I need an opinion.”

 

“Hit me.”

 

Shiro wasn’t hit. He was struck, he felt, with lightning as she emerged from the bathroom and floated forward through the doorway. Her dress was long and it fell like a waterfall along the curves of her body. The soft pink color flattered the tone of her skin and she was _stunning_ to look at.

 

“What was that?” he asked, shaking himself out of the well he’d fallen into. _None of that nonsense tonight_ , he told himself.

 

Allura was too preoccupied with her dress to notice him staring, and Shiro was too preoccupied staring to notice what Allura had been doing until she did it again. Her hands hovered over her chest as she said, “Boobs _au naturale?_ ” and then they cupped her breasts to push them together as she pondered, “Or pushed up?”

 

It was an innocent question. Simple too, the answer could be one or the other, but he began to stutter, “It… I– I guess… erm, it– depends… if you’d rather… um… c-conform to society– and the, um…” stutter _nonsense_ . “Or… if, bras– _brassieres–_ make you uncomfortable or… or hinder you from– dancing, I guess–,”

 

Allura waited patiently with a smirk on her face as he tripped over his tongue. She stood there, hands on her hips, until she could make out a coherent answer. “I’ll take that as a free-the-boobs answer.” 

 

Shiro gave her a strong nod, not wanting to make the situation worse with more words… but he did, “Yes. Great. Your boobs look good anyw…” He cleared his throat and turned away, he could feel the extreme heat on his face as he did and thanked _God_ that she decided to go back to the bathroom without anything but a giggled, “Thanks.”

 

 _None of that nonsense tonight._ He reminded himself again, and he couldn’t help but feel he’d need to be reminding himself that a whole lot more during the duration of the night.

* * *

 

 

The wind was cold when Allura was helped by Shiro down the car. She held onto his arm and thanked him as she wobbled on her heels on the gravel parking lot.

 

“Sorry for not letting you down up front.” he said and winced when she took long strides over the small pebbles. She waved a hand dismissively, unable to speak with the situation at hand. They’d been talking all the way from the dorms to the venue. They were a little late which meant all the parking slots were taken, so they drove around until they got one (finally). It just happened to be terribly far away from the front entrance and it didn’t occur to both of them that Allura was in heels.

 

Allura stumbled and wobbled on her heels. Going barefoot wasn’t an option, so trying her best not to fall on her face was the only way to go. It was on her nth wince that Shiro scooped her up and put his arms behind her knees and on her back, making her squeal.

 

“You walk _so slow_ ,” He rolled his eyes with a smirk. She gave him an offended gasp and smacked his chest with the back of her hand.

 

Shiro walked them over to the front gate in silence and Allura took the time to stare up at the darkened sky. Her days in the garrison gave her the ability to name every single one of the constellations she could see in the sky, and she never missed doing so when she looked up at the large void. Somehow, Shiro knew what she was doing too as he called out a constellation she was coincidentally staring at. She gave him an amused look, “How did you know?”

 

He shrugged as he trudged on, “I go to space school.”

 

Allura laughed and flicked his nose, “No, that I was looking at that constellation.”

 

Shiro looked down at her for a moment with the softest expression and then looked back up at the sky, “I guess I just know you.”

 

Allura returned his solemn expression and then silently brushed her thumb over the skin on the nape of his neck. She sighed quietly and her mind drifted off to thoughts on how lately, their friendship felt like it’s been skidding on thin ice. And then, that it were moments like this that reminded her how valuable and nice things are as they are that she shouldn’t want anything more that risks losing all of this forever.

 

“Going down.” Shiro announced, shifting her in his arms and gently setting her down on her feet on to even ground. The entrance was a few feet away. She smiled at him, “Thanks.”

 

“Don’t mention it.” he ducked his head, a small smile making its way on his lips, “You look beautiful, by the way.”

 

Allura blushed, “Thank you.”

 

He took a moment, and within that moment, Allura thought he was drinking her in. He looked her up and down, and then his eyes lingered on hers. She waited for him to say something, not knowing what she wanted it to be, but knowing that she wanted him to hear _something._ With a heavy sigh, he began, “Allura…”

 

“You made it!” A voice exclaimed. Both Shiro and Allura turned away from each other and looked towards the source. Lotor, dressed in a crisp dark blue suit, strode towards them. He was standing tall and confident, coming up to Shiro, he towered over him.

 

Allura pulled away from Shiro and grinned up at Lotor, affected by his bravado and infectious smile. “I did.”

 

Lotor gave her an award winning smile and then offered her his arm. “Shall we?”

 

Allura looped her arm around his without thinking, and then turned to look at Shiro who had a look on his face she couldn’t read. She wanted to ask him what he was trying to say. It only lasted for a second though, because when he realized she was looking at him, he smiled encouragingly. “Go have fun.”

 

All previous thoughts were out the window. “I’ll see you in there?”

 

He nodded, “Save me a dance.”

* * *

 

Lotor was a joy. Only two minutes in and he’d already gotten Allura’s stomach hurting from all the laughing. She hadn’t expected the night to get better until he pulled her onto the dance floor and showed her how good he can dance. Allura was quite the dancer, and it was otherworldly for her that someone else could match up her moves.

 

 _Shiro was a terrible dancer_. Allura scowled at the thought. It was the third time that the thought of Shiro strayed into her mind and it was staring to get on her nerves. She was here with Lotor. Lotor was her date. Not Shiro.

 

 _Not Shiro_. She sighed, defeated and glanced around, passing it off as a shake of her head to the music as she danced. Her eyes searched the room for the tall head of spiky dark hair. She spotted him in the distance, a smile on his face as he swayed to the music. A small chuckle escaped her lips. Shiro didn’t dance. He hated dancing. Once, when they were kids, he broke his arm climbing a tree because he refused to dance for a dare.

 

Looking at him now made the memory fizz into place in her heart, but then dropped into the bitter pit of her stomach as she realized that he wasn’t smiling because he liked dancing. No, he was smiling at the girl he was dancing with.

 

She was close. Too close. Ridiculously close. Disgustingly, overkill _close_ to Shiro’s body that Allura’s movements slowed. As much as she wanted to look away— because she didn’t care, she _shouldn’t_ care whether or not someone was feeling up her best friend and rubbing their ugly manicured fingers on his chest and whispering whatever the fuck it was they were whispering in his ear and—

 

Allura’s dancing came to a halt when Shiro’s gaze strayed to her for a split second and then his eyes were closed and his face was covered by the back of whoever-he-was-dancing-with’s head. Arms above her head, body slightly curved to the last beat she’d danced to, Allura was frozen. Mortified, as her best friend kissed a beautiful girl across the room.

 

It wasn’t new. Shiro’s had dates before. She got along with a few, met a few, saw him kiss a lot… but it never made her feel like this. The last person he kissed in front of her, she all but yelled at them in good nature to “get a damn room”. They did, or they stopped, she couldn’t remember because it was none of her business. _None_. It didn’t affect her. It didn’t make her feel like her throat was closing up, or like her chest was burning, or like steam was coming out of her ears and nostrils like a steaming kettle. She had never felt anything like what she was feeling in that moment.

 

In her mind, she’d already crossed the room, yanked his date away by the hair and dragged him away to Vrepit Sal’s where she’d try to find excuses as to why she’d caused such a scene. He’d already told her that it was perfectly fine and that he was glad she’d done that because he wouldn’t want to be kissing any other girl but her. They’d already been making out and throwing caution into the wind, not caring what’ll happen with their friendship if they fucked up the relationship.

 

But that was in her mind. In reality, Lotor’s hands were on her shoulders and he was gazing at her with worried eyes, “Allura, are you alright?”

 

Allura blinked and ripped her focus away from the scene in front of her to refocus on Lotor. She took a breath and plastered the most convincing smile she couldn’t muse on her face, “Fine. Just… tired.”

 

“Would you like to retire for the night?”

 

Allura gave him a look, one of silent gratitude, “I would hate to pull you away from the party.”

 

Lotor gave her a smile, one that looked a little too excited to be a simple offer that even his suave couldn’t hide it, “I have a suite upstairs. We can stay there if you’d like, in case you’d want to go back to the party later on.”

 

Allura wasn’t stupid. She knew where things like this led. She knew it wouldn’t be smart to go up alone with a boy who she barely even knew. Declining would be the right move, telling him to just drive her to the nearest fast food place where she could stuff her face with fries and sob would be the right move. But someone across the room decided to laugh loud enough that she could hear the familiar trills ringing in her ears and caused the lapse in her judgement.

 

She nodded. “Okay.”

 

Lotor’s smile grew and then was stifled into a bashful one as he offered his arm out to her again, like a gentleman. She took it and he led the both of them away from the floor, and away from Shiro for the rest of the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading!
> 
> Hit me up on tumblr: mycacoeths


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